Early this morning, as I was headed east from Denver, I encountered a tragedy on Interstate 70. A mother raccoon and her four kits lie splattered across the highway, likely nocturnal victims of a tractor trailer.
Raccoons can be a nuisance to homeowners but even the most hard-hearted suburbanite would be moved by this sight. The mother, whether escorting her first or tenth litter, was purely following instinct and the youngsters, new to this dangerous world, had but a month or two to explore their surroundings before tragedy struck.
I could shift the discussion toward humans and our impact on natural ecosystems but the scene was too wrenching and the raccoons deserve better. As fellow mammals, we empathize with their plight and, as intelligent creatures, we acknowledge the risk of sudden and random death.
